Testing and Editing Your Watershed Quest
To test their quest, students return to the quest site with volunteers. Utilizing notes resulting from the test
session, students revise the quest.
TEACHER PREPA R ATION
1. Prior to this lesson, recruit your “quest testers.” These might
be parents, neighbors, even another class at your school.
They should not be people who were involved in making the
quest, nor should they be people who are familiar with your
quest site.
2. Make copies of the quest—one for each tester and one for each
student (or group).
3. Before you begin testing, make sure students realize how
important this part of the process is. You can tell them,
“You’ve all done a lot of work, and this is the time where all that
work can either bear tasty fruit—a great quest—or bear sour
grapes—a quest that is confusing, even annoying. Your quest
may do both. This test run will show you which parts need
to be adjusted.”
PROCEDURE
1. Ask your testers to read the quest aloud one clue at a time and
to try to follow it.
2. Follow the testers, at a distance of 5 to 10 feet. You need to
follow far enough back that you don’t give away your clues, yet
close enough to hear what the testers are saying, even to
anticipate what they are thinking!
3. Watch carefully to learn where your quest works and where your
testers are confused.
4. When you are sure that the testers are confused—headed in the
wrong direction—stop them, backtrack and clarify your clues in
order to redirect them onto the correct path.
5. Each group should take responsibility for revising its portion of
the quest (movement clue and teaching clue). However,
all students—regardless of grouping—can help in the editing
Work together. Enjoy the process. And celebrate success!
6. At the completion of the testing, thank your testers!
FOC USING QUESTIO N
Does your quest work?
Does it lead people to the box?
Does it share your site’s story?
Is it fun?
MAT ER IALS
Copies of the quest
Pen/pencil
Clipboards
Computer
TIME
3 hours
Testing and Editing Your Watershed Quest 2
7. Utilizing your notes from the testing session, each group revises
its section of the quest.
8. Each group reads aloud its final draft.
9. The final quest is distributed to participating students as well
as to the local Chamber of Commerce, community libraries,
local preschools and elementary schools, and so on.
FURTHER REFERENCES
Additional educator resources for Jean-Michel Cousteau
Ocean Adventures can be found at pbs.org/oceanadventures.
For further information on questing, see Questing: A Guide to
Creating Community Treasure Hunts, by Delia Clark and Steven
Glazer (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2004).
Quests have been published in Valley Quest: 89 Treasure Hunts in
the Upper Valley (White River Junction, VT: Vital Communities, 2001)
and Valley Quest II: 75 More Treasure Hunts in the Upper Valley
(White River Junction, VT: Vital Communities, 2004).
AUTHOR
Steven Glazer is the Valley Quest Coordinator for Vital Communities,
a regional nonprofit organization based in White River Junction, Vt.,
that works to engage citizens in community life and to foster the
long-term balance of cultural, economic, environmental and social
well-being in the region.
Vital Communities
104 Railroad Row
White River Junction, Vt. 05001
Phone: (802) 291–9100
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.vitalcommunities.org
CREDITS
Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean Adventures is produced by
KQED Public Broadcasting and the Ocean Futures Society.
The exclusive corporate sponsor is The Dow Chemical Company.
Additional major support comes from: the William K. Bowes Jr.
Foundation, Ann Bowers and The Robert Noyce Trust, the William
and Gretchen Kimball Fund, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation,
and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.
